Judge orders civil trial for ex-SS officer

A military judge ordered the release from house arrest of a former SS major suspected of involvement in Italy's worst Second World War atrocity and ruled that his case should instead be considered by the civil judiciary.

The ruling on Karl Hass, 84, after a closed-door committal hearing could create a legal nightmare. Another former SS officer, ex-captain Erich Priebke, is in preventive detention pending a re-trial by a military court for the same atrocity. Reuters - Rome